Stupid Star Charts
by Kittypig
Summary: One day the power goes out, much to the annoyance of our favorite Irken invader, Zim. (And GIR too, of course.) Dib tells Zim that it's a normal thing, but when a new arrival shows up in the neighborhood, Zim becomes suspicious. What could this new neighbor possibly be doing to sap so much power?
1. Chapter 1: Darkness

Stupid Star Charts: Chapter 1

_Dearest Tallest, _

_I am sorry to say that communications have been abruptly disconnected. I've decided to investigate this matter immediately. Please take note that as soon as Zim finds the cause, it WILL be eradicated. Especially if it happens to be that annoying pest, Dib. I shall update my status with you as soon as possible, my Tallest._

_Your best soldier,_

_Zim_

After signing his name, Zim proceeded to fold his letter and place it in a long, plastic, cylinder-shaped tube. He sealed the top with a purple lid that screwed on tight. As soon as the lid was secure, little green lights glowed all around the top. The message wouldn't slip out now. Zim wasn't too happy, and couldn't bring himself to smile despite his handiwork. His Irken leaders would surely want to know about the reasoning for his loss of electronic communication with them. On the other hand, it was annoying, being forced to resort to such primitive means as sending a letter _written_ on _paper_. It was so unbecoming, yet necessary for the Irken invader. He only hoped that no one noticed how limited he was as of now.

Dib, an annoying Earth-monkey that maintained the title of "the Bane of Zim's Existence," just might. Dib had noticed from day one that there was something odd about Zim. When he'd first set foot in the humans' "Skool" Dib had glowered menacingly and pointed out his differences. His lack of hears and his green skin were dead give aways. The fact that he had disguised himself with a pair of contacts to cover his crazy red bug eyes and a dark wig to cover his two antennae had been the only thing to save him from exposure. Fortunately, all of the other students weren't as intelligent, and Zim was able to avoid suspicions. However, Dib was persistent.

Zim grumbled, sitting on his magenta-colored couch that was exaggeratedly huge. He crossed his arms, grouchy and in the dark. He wasn't used to this.

* * *

><p>Only a few hours ago the little green fellow had been in the middle of a video conference with the Tallest, the Irken leaders, when all went dark. The power didn't just blink, it went out. Unlike Irk, his home planet that was like a sprawling metropolis that almost never lost power, Earth had more issues with maintaining power. Zim's bug-like eyes adjusted quickly to the darkness, and he had cried out to a blank screen.<p>

"My Tallest? Where have you gone?! Why is it dark?! GIR!"

GIR, Zim's dim-witted robot servant appeared, his eyes glowing a menacing red in the dark. He saluted and stood up straight like a soldier.

"Yes, my master?" he said with an echo in his voice.

Suddenly, after that very statement, GIR's eyes faded back to his normal light blue. Zim's vision wasn't completely horrid in the dark; however, what he saw was dim. He could just barely see the big grin on GIR's face. Zim glared.

"GIR! What happened to the _power_?!" Zim demanded.

GIR gave him a blank look, searched the dark, and returned his gaze to Zim with a shrug. He made an "I dunno" noise and stared vacantly at Zim. Zim growled.

"I've lost all communication with the Tallest, GIR! We must find the source of the problem immediately. The Tallest cannot be left in the dark!" Zim yelled dramatically. "We will start by checking our main source of power. From there, we will check _their _main source of power!"

"Okie Dokie!" GIR cheered.

Zim pulled a handy-dandy little device from a lab table. It looked a lot like a pH meter, with a rectangular shaped body and a meter detecting the level of power that would be coming through the two wires and sensors on the top. He walked to the doors of the elevator, only to realize that without power, there was no way to get upstairs and out of the house. Zim cursed to himself. How was he, the almighty Zim, supposed to get out now? Finally, it dawned on him; he could use GIR's rockets to bust through the ceiling and to the top floor. He regretted doing it, because the loud noise could alert the neighboring humans. Zim shook his head. Sacrifices had to be made every now and then, and this was one of those times where a sacrifice was the only option. With this in mind, he called GIR to his side.

"GIR. Prepare your rockets and get ready to burst through the ceiling of the lab! I hate to do this, but it may be our only hope to get to find the source of our inadequate electricity." Zim said.

GIR grinned wide. "Okay!" he hollered.

From GIR's feet came fire that caused him to begin to levitate. He grabbed his master under the arms with his claw-like hands and blasted off. Zim screamed at the sudden inertia, his stomach dropped and his eyes nearly popped out of his head. CRASH! BANG! They broke through layers of the house before finally breaking through the floor of the base level. They ended up in the kitchen, where GIR accidentally released Zim and sent him skidding across the purple and green tile, through a doorway, across the living room, and finally into a wall. Zim hit the wall head-first and was flipped upside down. Standing on his head, he was still able to offer an angry glare.

GIR quickly ventured to the invader's side.

"Are we gonna get tacooooos?" GIR asked childishly.

Zim huffed and pushed himself to his feet.

"No, GIR, no tacos. We have a mission. Get into your dog suit; we have much investigating to do."

"Aww…" GIR's antenna drooped as he turned to go obey.

Within a few minutes, both were ready in their disguises. GIR wore his green dog outfit with a little black nose, black ears, and a felt tongue that constantly stuck out. A large zipper hung from his chest, but no one ever seemed to notice. Zim was wearing his normal human-imitating disguise complete with blue contact lenses. His green skin, zipper-like teeth, lack of ears, and missing nose and fingers weren't covered, it was believable enough; he told everyone that it was a skin condition, which they thankfully accepted. Those fools.

"Time for departure, GIR." Zim warned as they headed out the front door.

As soon as Zim opened his door, he noticed movement in the street, like a shadow ducking behind the fence that stood around the perimeter of his yard. Zim's brow furrowed. (Although he has no eyebrows…) He squinted.

"GIR," he whispered, "go check behind the fence."

GIR stared for a moment before strolling behind the fence, his every step producing a squeak. _Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak… _Zim cringed every time. Hopefully whatever was behind the fence wouldn't be so sensitive to noise.

"AHH!" came a familiar voice from behind the fence. Out from the fence posts came Dib, a great big lollipop jutting out from his left hand. In his right hand was a pair of high-powered binoculars. He wore his traditional heavy trenchcoat and a blue shirt with an unhappy face on it. His large glasses framed his big brown eyes and his dark hair was slicked back into a greasy fashion. Dib's hair was always an oddity to Zim; for some reason one long shock of hair tended to point up and over his head, and it was longer than all his other hair. After seeing Dib's father, Zim realized that it had been inherited. However, every now and again, Zim wondered if the strange lock of hair was actually an antennae sticking up.

"HI!" GIR greeted.

"Dib! What are _you _doing here?!" Zim demanded hastily.

_Are you the cause of Zim's electricity being stolen?! _Zim wondered.

"The power's out," Dib replied, matching Zim's angered expression, "I thought you might've been doing something weird that could have caused it."

Zim rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Foolish human. Unlike _you, _Zim _knows _how to use his lab, and knows how to keep everything under control."

Dib cocked an eyebrow incredulously. "Oh really?"

"Yes, _really._" Zim growled back.

"Ha! Yeah right."

"Tell me, _Dib, _what have you done to rid me of my communications with my Tallest?" Zim snarled.

Dib closed his eyes and took a lick of his lollipop. "_I _didn't _do _anything. The power outage is just something that happens sometimes. What's the matter, _Zim_? Can't operate without power?"

Dib smirked.

"No… I…" Zim looked at the ground and then, frustrated, took a step toward Dib. "Tell Zim what he can do to fix this 'power outage.'"

"Nothing." Dib replied. "You just have to wait it out like the rest of us. Find something else to do."

"Hm?!" Zim hummed.

"You know: do something that doesn't require power." Dib licked his sucker again.

Zim rubbed his chin. What could he possibly do now to communicate with his Tallest without using electricity? It was then that he remembered a way. Abruptly, Zim rushed into his house, slamming the door, leaving Dib and GIR to stare at each other.

* * *

><p>Zim smiled to himself, exposing his sharp, zipper-like teeth. He was such a sly little Irken soldier. He had used his excellent skills to fuel the little tube he'd filled with his letter with rocket fuel to make it fly up and send. He only hoped that it didn't burn up in the atmosphere of Earth. So many complications with this <em>dumb planet<em>.

Now, Zim was left to sit on his couch, unhappy in the dark. When GIR came in, he picked up the television remote and hit the big red power button. Nothing happened. GIR began to freak out instantly.

"B-but I wanted to watch the angry monkey show!" he cried as little robot tears welled up in his eyes.

Annoyed, Zim grumbled at him. "Can't you do something else?"

GIR thought. "I'm gonna make waffles!" he grinned.

Zim frowned. "No, GIR, no waffles, either."

GIR looked at the floor. "Master, what are we supposed to do?" he whined.

"Play with your piggy or something, GIR. We just have to wait out the darkness."

The little robot pulled a little squeaky piggy from a compartment in the top of his head and began to giggle and play with it. Zim sighed and rubbed his temples, slouching in his seat. This was going to be a _long_ evening.

* * *

><p><strong>Hello, everyone! This is my first Invader Zim fanfiction. I've only been watching it for a few weeks, so a few characters may be acting a <em>little <em>weird... Sorry about that, if they are! ^^' I hope you enjoy! Please remember to review and tell me if I've made any mistakes. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated! :)**


	2. Chapter 2: Toxin

Stupid Star Charts: Chapter 2

The next morning, Zim remembered that it was the day the humans called _Monday. _Zim had learned that this day was to be despised rather quickly. It paused his work in his lab, upsetting him greatly. It meant a day of Skool, and unhappy, dim, stupid students. Being among such peasants made Zim want to pluck his own eyeballs out. However, it was necessary to his mission to learn all he could about this putrid dust ball, Earth. He hadn't learned much, so far, other than how to balance a pencil on his nose. It was almost a waste of time to Zim, if it weren't for the fact that the mentor for the class could let out one of Earth's secrets at any given moment in the school day.

The mentor frightened him. She had a long, slender body, almost like a serpent. A pair of beady eyes icily peeked out from behind two glass windows perched on her large pointy nose. Her hair was always pulled back into a tight bun erect on her head, although she slouched most of the time. When she would approach, a sound like a rattlesnake often occurred. Her lectures constantly consisted of how doomed the universe was. She was always wrong about the cause, in Zim's opinion. Although he'd never bring it up in class (which would please Dib very much if he did), because correcting the teacher would mean blowing his cover and having Ms. Bitters' grouchy gaze upon him. The thought of her soulless eyes on him sent a shiver down his spine. That teacher _couldn't_ be human. Zim wondered how many more creatures there were like her.

Zim normally walked alone to school, preferring not to have friends. Especially not after Keef, an obsessive boy that Zim had a hard time getting rid of. Zim sighed. Now he only had GIR for company. And perhaps the Dib human as well. Zim shook his head. Dib was nothing more than a pest. An enemy. Something to destroy. And oh, how he would destroy Dib. Zim would make Dib's last moments ever so tortuous. He wrung his hands and gave a toothy grin, furrowing his brow evilly. It was all he could do to keep from laughing maniacally in the middle of the street.

The small invader had been so lost in thought he'd not noticed how slow he'd been walking. He'd only gotten about four houses away from his own. Zim grumbled and quickened his pace. He couldn't be late, lest suspicions arise. _I shall never think of my relationships with others again. I am an Irken soldier, and we need NO ONE! _Zim thought. Even in his head he was loud, his voice bouncing around in his brain, much like it did throughout town when he would try to emphasize his point. Zim didn't care. As long as he was understood, he didn't care if he made people go deaf.

Upon arrival at Skool, the bell was ringing and zombie-like kids reluctantly headed inside. Zim looked to the gray sky above, then back to the dark, gloomy brick building ahead. Thank goodness he wasn't too late, he thought as he ran toward the door. Zim was quickly pursued by Dib, who moved sluggishly. He had dark circles under his eyes and yawned loudly. Dib's younger sister, Gaz, followed closely behind him, her nose buried in her gaming system. Zim looked at the two, wondering how they were related, these two completely different individuals. Their only similarity was their eye color, which was a lighter brown color. Other than that, there were no similarities. Gaz was much scarier, her face constantly contorted into a scowl. Zim found her to be quite dangerous to others, including those in her own family. She was better avoided.

As the children began to drain slowly into the school, a grouchy Ms. Bitters appeared on the front steps, teeth gritted into a wide sneer. Children scattered back across the damp schoolyard, gasping and muttering. Ms. Bitters distributed a glare among the mass of pea brains, her nose scrunching up in disgust.

"You can all go home now." she spat out the words like poison. "The power is out and we can't work the toilets or the lights. School is _cancelled _for today."

A din of shouts, hollers, and hoorays erupted from the group of children, all of them mindlessly happy. Zim was shocked by the sudden noise and jumped. Why were these creatures so jubilant when not provided instruction? Was this Skool not here to show them the sole purpose of their miserable lives? Even Dib was smiling a bit wider at the news. Zim sighed. He wasn't going to learn anything today, he supposed. This stupid power outage prohibited him more than he'd initially thought. He growled. Whatever caused these woes would surely suffer the wrath of Zim. The children dispersed from the schoolyard within five minutes, as if racing to get away. Zim walked down the sidewalk, scanning his environment as he went, seeing the dark homes and the bleak attempts at brightness with annoying-looking lawn decorations. Truly suburbia was disgusting.

As soon as he was once again four houses from his home base, Zim caught sight of a house to his right, the windows glowing brightly. The aglow object seemed to come from inside, and the light emanating from it was an unnatural pink. Zim looked at it quizzically and decided to get a closer look. His curiosity winning him over, he took a few paces towards the house to a large window in the front. He had to stand on his tip-toes to actually see inside.

"What on Irk…?!" Zim whispered in awe.

Inside the house was a short creature, with brown fur and lighter brown paws and tail. The critter had purple tips to its ears, its horns, its tail, and its claws. Its eyes were green, bright and almost glowing. Around its neck was a scarf-like white cloth. Under the cloth was a necklace, visible only by the royal purple pendant hanging just below it. The purple stone was surrounded by gold, and it shimmered. When the creature would open its mouth and grit its teeth in frustration, sharp, golden teeth would shine beyond its lips. Before it was a ship-like structure, and an object similar to a blow-torch was occupying its left hand. Zim's eyes widened.

"I've seen this species before…" he thought aloud to himself. "A Toxus moxus…?" Zim gasped. "A Toxen! But what would one of _their _kind be doing on Earth? Their species isn't as violent as we Irkens… In fact, we'd taken over their planet not too long ago… How did this one escape the Irken wrath?"

"Another alien species? On Earth?!" Dib exclaimed from a tree behind Zim. Suddenly top-heavy, Dib dropped six feet out of the tree, his trench coat's tail billowing in the wind. He landed with a thud and his coat tail fell softly over his head.

"DIB! What are _you _doing _here_?" Zim hollered, glaring.

Dib pulled himself to his feet, dusting himself off and placing a hand on his head. He straightened his glasses.

"I saw you staring in that person's window." Dib explained, pointing accusingly. "I was making sure you weren't chatting with an accomplice or stealing anyone's organs again."

"I have no need for any of your inferior_ human _organs, you hippo-headed _pig_." Zim growled.

Dib furrowed his brow. "What's this you say about another _alien species _on Earth?"

"What's it to _you_?"

Dib put his hand on his hips and looked to the sky, a starry-eyed look gracing his features.

"I must protect the Earth from any dangerous invaders!" Dib returned to reality. "I like to know what I'm up against."

Zim sneered, turning around. "Like I care."

Dib grunted and moved to the window on the opposite side of the door. Peeking through, he saw the critter. _He looks like a cross between a goat and a dog. _Dib pondered.

"What's with the purple?" Dib queried. It surely wasn't some kind of fashion statement.

"Isn't it obvious?" Zim scoffed at Dib's naivety. "It _means _he's _poisonous._"

"_Poisonous_?" Dib's eyes grew wider.

"Yes, puny human. He's a _Toxen_." Zim said a-matter-of-factly.

"Toxen?"

"Why do you waste my time repeating my answers? Yes, a Toxen is a creature with a toxic substance that runs throughout their bloodstream. It can be excreted through its horns and claws. Don't you know anything?"

Dib mumbled. "So, if he…_scratches _someone…they'll _die_?" he gulped. This wasn't as simple as a soldier from another planet with a few weapons. This was a bit of a stickier situation.

"Basically." Zim replied shortly.

Both of them started when the door squeaked and opened slowly. It was dark inside, and a short figure stood in the opening. The figure was even more diminutive than Zim, perhaps only an inch or two taller than GIR. Zim took a step back instantly when those horns appeared in the light. The tiny creature looked at them, squinted, and shivered. It seemed afraid in their presence, although by the look on Zim's face, it was the one to be feared.

"RUN!" screeched Zim.

The two trespassers turned and sprinted in two different directions. Zim ran all the way to his own house, throwing open the door, jumping inside and then slamming the door closed again. He sucked in heavy breaths, trying to steady his fleeting heart. He moved to the window, looking out, checking for any pursuers. Finding none, he wiped the sweat off of his forehead and sighed.

"WHATCHA DOIN'?" GIR's loud, metallic voice sounded, making Zim nearly jump out of his skin.

"AHHH! GIR! What are you doing? Don't you know that it's _rude _to sneak up on people?!" Zim scolded.

GIR looked at the ground. "I'm sorry, Master…"

"You should be." Zim grumbled.

GIR's attitude quickly changed. "I made you tacos!" he hollered.

"I don't_ want _tacos, GIR." Zim said.

"But, you _have _to eat!"

"I said '_no_,' GIR. Now, _be gone_! I need to think." Zim replied firmly.

"That's okay, I didn't make them, anyway!" GIR shouted, all smiles as he ran into the dark kitchen.

Zim rubbed his eyes and pulled out his contacts, revealing two red, shimmering orbs. He needed to think and reassess his situation. With this new factor, he'd need to make a few changes to his plan of conquering Earth.

* * *

><p><strong>Hey, Everyone! Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites on the last chapter! I hope you enjoy chapter 2! I'm trying to keep this as far from lame as possible. LoL The new character is just a little critter that came off the top of my head while sketching one day! Still thinking of an odd name to give him, but we'll figure that out in the next chapter! Please review and remember to keep reading, 'cause it's good for you! :)<strong>


	3. Chapter 3: Burning Origins

Stupid Star Charts: Chapter 3

Dib wanted answers.

Why had Zim been so afraid of that small creature? Of course, because it was poisonous, but why didn't he give his regular "I am the superior being" speech? He'd give it to just about anything else. Why not this one? The alien didn't seem threatening. In fact, it seemed quite timid in the presence of the Irken and the human. Dib remembered the critter's eyes closely watching Zim. While it gazed, its eyes seemed to cloud up, as if some sort of flashback were occurring. Was it possible that the two knew each other? Or maybe something terrible happened between the Irkens and these so-called "Toxens".

The young paranormal investigator searched his messy room for equipment. He scoured the underside of his bed for a notebook and a pencil. (Or a pen, whatever worked.) Dib was going to go see the little Toxen, to see how friendly the alien really was. Sure, this was probably really dangerous, but Zim had done a whole lot of terrible things to him when they fought. (Detonation, turning him into sausage, probably catching him on fire at least once, pushing him off a fence to get mauled by a dog, et cetra…) The truth was: Dib wasn't sure there was anything that could really surprise him anymore. He'd learned one thing while fighting aliens, though: he could be very resilient when he wanted to be.

Dib figured that if things got dangerous, he could just jump out the window or use one of the power tools scattered about the floor in the one room he'd seen in the house. Yeah, power tools were threatening. Especially to an alien with super deadly toxins at their finger tips. No doubt it'd be afraid of power tools.

Dib didn't know much about this new alien, but he did know one thing: Zim was afraid of it. If Zim was afraid of it, it was a potential ally. Dib swallowed a bit of spit that went down like a ton of bricks. There was a huge lump in his throat. It was full on fear clogging up his esophagus, and he nearly choked on his own saliva. He clutched the pen in his hand tightly, clicking the button at the end. The concealed ink expelling end peeked in and out of the shell of the pen with each agitating click.

The young paranormal investigator decided that he'd put enough thought into this from his room. It was time to put his thoughts in motion. It wasn't a long walk to the poisonous alien's house, and it was four houses shorter to Zim's. Being Zim's regular stalker other than that one kid, Keef, Dib would know this like the locations he stashed his paranormal magazines in. He could never forget a passion.

Approaching the Poison House (dubbed this officially by Dib, who needed a name for it to record this life-threatening event in his log), Dib's hands began to sweat, his palms secreting the gross liquid nearly causing him to drop his pen on the lawn. The lawn was dry, dead, and unkept. It was almost like savanna grass; it was brittle, growing in yellowish patches and leaving sandy ground exposed to the elements, like skin on a balding man's head. Dib tried not to think about it too much, but couldn't help but wonder if maybe the creature touching the lawn had to do with its disgusting appearance. As he trekked forward, the trench coat wearing boy noticed a light coming from the window. It would glow and suddenly go dim, sending an eerie feeling surging through Dib's bones. The thought of jumping into the bushes crossed the boy's mind, however he decided against it. This wasn't Zim. This was another creature, perhaps just as dangerous, or perhaps friendly.

Suddenly, the door opened. Out came the little critter, his eyes shiny, with lakes of water invading the green orbs. The Toxen sniffed, staring up at Dib with no terror or fear, or even anger. No, the look in this alien's eyes was so much different: it was a look of defeat. The Toxen looked soft and furry, and it was all Dib could do to keep from reaching out to scratch behind his ears. The alien sniffed again.

"Please don't arrest me sir, I haven't the foggiest what your rules are, and I had no idea I was breaking them!" the Toxen threw himself to Dib's feet, bawling hysterically.

Its voice was like a young child's, perhaps a nine-year-old's. It was hard for Dib to maintain his composure. He felt a little sorry for it, but at the same time, it was an _alien. _

"Uhm…" Dib was confused. Since when did creatures like this ask for forgiveness? "I came to ask you a few questions…"

"Interrogation?" yelped the Toxen. "There's no need for that! I'll tell you everything, just please, don't hurt me!"

"No, no, no! Not like that!" Dib yelled, raising his voice to be heard over the alien's whining.

"You…y-you mean…you just want to talk…?" the little guy was in disbelief, his eyes wide and his distrust betraying his facial features. "But…I saw you…with the Irken…"

"I'm not _with_ him." Dib practically growling the syllables. "I _hate _Zim."

"Ohh…" the alien replied, mulling it over cautiously. "So…you're _not_ hostile…?"

"Only if you're here to threaten Earth." said Dib.

The alien shook his head. "Oh, no, of course not! My planet was invaded by other creatures, my leaders and I would never _dream _of putting your kind through _that _nightmare!"

Dib's curiosity was now piqued. "Your planet was invaded?"

Aliens invaded other aliens? Who knew?

"Perhaps we should sit down…" the Toxen gestured to a sugar maple tree in the yard, his expression sullen.

Dib obediently sat under the tree, obviously not going to argue with one so shaken up and toxic. The boy leaned against the rough tree bark, his back cushioned by the leather of his coat. He adjusted his glasses and pulled his knees up a foot from his chest. He uses his thighs as an easel, preparing his pen for work. The Toxen plopped down beside him, sitting between two roots that were too close to the tree to be submerged underground. Dib scrutinized the critter's face, who was staring at the ground forlornly. Dib's gut wrenched furiously, afraid of what he was about to hear. After five long minutes of waiting for the heavy hanging air to thin out with words of origin, Dib broke the silence with a simple question.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Xavier." answered the alien, his ears lifting and eyes meeting the native's without so much as a turn of the head. "What's yours?"

"Dib." Dib said. "Also known as several different names by my classmates that I can't repeat."

Dib laughed in spite of himself. It was a half-hearted laugh, perhaps even a one-fourth-laugh. Xavier barely responded in return, offering a small smile. It was a tiny upturn of his lips on the right side. Xavier had his knees pulled up to his chest and his eyes trained to the ground, obviously thinking heavily about the past.

"So, how did you end up on Earth, anyway?"

Xavier looked up, his ears perking at the question.

"I'm from the planet Toxen, a green planet, with lush forests where my kind would run free..." he trailed off to sob, causing Dib to feel a pang of frustration. He knew it was a traumatic story by the way Xavier acted, but at the same time, he really wanted to hear what happened. These pauses only slowed him down.

"'Would'?" Dib questioned, trying to get the Toxen back on track.

Xavier sighed. "We were invaded by the Irkens, much like your friend Zim. They flooded in by the hundreds, maybe fifty per ship, attacking our establishments, our homes. The planet Toxus was greener than ever, you could say, but negatively so."

"But what about your army? Don't you have a military?"

"Oh, no!" Xavier said, sounding surprised. "Planet Toxus is home to a peaceful race. We wish not to harm others, though we have the capability. What is the point of violence? It would make us no better than the Irkens themselves!"

Dib blinked. He never thought in a million years that he'd meet something so lethal that _wouldn't _want to kill him. He was still wary of the creature. He'd been lied to before; he wouldn't be caught off guard, not today.

"The day they invaded, we had no idea what to do. The Irkens had weapons, as opposed to us, who lived off of nature and our basic necessities. We had only one city, where our population was herded to and around. After a few days, my parents, rest their souls, dragged me to the top floor of one of the tallest towers we had. There were pods that were used for space exploration, to visit other planets and make them better places by spreading kind influence. My mother and father forced me into a ship before I could protest and closed the door. I couldn't escape. Well, I _did_ escape the _Irkens_. Or so I thought."

"If your race is accustomed to helping other planets, why did you hide?" Dib asked.

"Think of it this way: if you crash land on a foreign, unknown planet, what will your first action be?" Xavier raised a brow.

"Go outside and investigate the specimens on the planet…" Dib began.

Xavier cocked his head to the side. "You're very brave, for one with no claws and very dull teeth."

"Uhm… thank you…?" Dib shook his large head. "So, if Irkens had invaded your planet why had Zim been so afraid of you?"

"The Irkens who have infested Toxus are very cautious of my kind. When some of my friends were captured, they were forced to wear steel caps over the spikes of their horns and were de-clawed. They didn't want to risk being poisoned by a rebellious soul."

"And if someone broke free…?"

"They would be shot dead in the streets, being made an example before everyone." Xavier hung his head, ready to cry.

The darkly clad boy patted his back, unsure of any other way to comfort a crying alien. He'd never seen Zim cry, just scream and roll around on the floor. (And he certainly wasn't going to console _that._ He was usually the cause, anyway.) Dib suddenly felt determined. He had to help. He felt as though it was his duty. Normally, he'd want to dissect the alien that came into such close contact, however, this was a special case; the alien was peaceful and meant not to harm his home. Seeing how hostile the Irkens were, Zim was probably plotting the Toxen's demise as they spoke! Halting a victory from Zim was like a win for Dib, so it was good all around. _Besides, the _last _thing this planet needs is another alien, let alone a _poisonous _one! _Dib thought, _if I help him off Earth, we'll have one less danger to worry about in case he and Zim end up teaming up. For the safety of Earth! _Even in his mind, Dib was dramatic.

"Maybe I can help." Dib suggested.

It suddenly dawned on Dib that if the Toxen trusted him, then he could get inside the base and figure out the inner workings of his ship. Perhaps he could even build his own and search the stars himself! Or, if they achieved communications first, he could speak to the leaders!

Xavier looked up. "R-really? You'd do that?! Oh, kind soul!" Xavier threw himself at Dib to hug him. Dib awkwardly pulled away, wary of the creature's claws.

"Er… yeah…so, let's get started, shall we?" Dib asked, swiping dirt off his trench coat.

Meanwhile, on the planet called Irk, two high and mighty beings sat in chairs, staring out at the stars outside of their huge, circular window. As a small Irken window washer finished his duties, the two beings chatted about random things within the empire. They stuffed their faces with snacks galore, all of these delicacies the finest the galaxy had to offer. Donuts, curly fries, chips, candy, and all kinds of other junk foods that normal Irkens wouldn't have and only dream of; and there was a whole _pile_ in the middle of their sitting room!

"Maybe we should charge more for our soldiers to refuel their ships," suggested one clad in red, his clawed hand reaching for a glazed donut.

"That's a waste of time," replied the other through a mouthful of curly fries, him dressed in purple. "If we do that it takes up precious time needed for the armada to get to the planet."

Red tossed his head back in his chair, sighing and rubbing his temples. "Right, right... that'd give the people of that planet more time to evacuate..."

"And evacuation means fewer servants and less personal items to destroy." Purple finished.

After being the rulers of Irk for a little while now, the two Tallests had become quite accustomed to finishing each other's thoughts. Although neither of them would admit it, they relied on each other a lot. They talked things out together, especially government decisions and decrees. It was almost as if they were two sides of a brain or conscious. Purple provided the softer, nicer thoughts, while Red was rash and quick to violence and anger. They completed each other, almost like twins.

As they ate their fill of goodies, they heard the familiar whooshing of doors being opened and some underling stepping forth into their chambers. They looked over their shoulders to see a short little mail Irken with a messenger bag on his hip and a cute little blue hat situated so justly between his two antennae. In one white-gloved hand was a roll of paper. The tiny red-eyed Irken held out the letter for his Tallest, awaiting dismissal patiently. He'd only been in the Tallests' quarters a few times before, and each time it gave him some new wonder to dream about. One day, he hoped to be one of the Tallests. Then he could have so many snacks!

The mail Irken cleared his throat. "A letter for you, my Tallest." he announced, stretching his arm and holding out the paper a little farther.

"A letter?" Red repeated incredulously.

"How very...primitive..." Purple remarked.

Red grabbed the rolled up note and gave the little mail person a few moneys for a tip. He then proceeded to open the letter carefully. The paper crinkled and displayed quite a few wrinkles as it opened. Red's face contorted into a look of despair as the bottom signature revealed itself. Zim.

"Oh no..." he said.

"What is it?" Purple asked. Red handed him the letter. "Oh no, now he's sending _letters_, too?!"

"Apparently. Let's see what he wants, anyway."

Purple opened up the letter and read it aloud.

"Dearest Tallest," he began.

By the time he had finished reading, the two were on the floor with laughter. It wasn't just laughter at the fact that Zim was so loyal. They were laughing with relief. This meant no random calls from the faux invader for a while.

"This...this calls for a dance party!" Red snickered.

The two of them played music and began swaying, using black-lights and a disco ball to convert their quarters into a dance floor. Their feet didn't touch the ground, so they just hovered and swung their hips this way and that. They proceeded to do awkward versions of the disco and the robot. (The Robot they had learned from a SIR unit with some serious moves.) Dancing hand in hand, they created a small gas bonfire in the center of the floor and threw the letter into the flames, cheering and jeering as the paper burned. They laughed, hooted, and hollered, acting rather primitive themselves, to any onlooker that could gain access to such a display within the security of the private room.

"I-if...if only this were permanent!" Purple laughed, wiping away a tear.

Red suddenly got that "aha" moment look on his face. He got up and began rubbing his chin, looking at star charts and maps.

"What if...what if it was...?"

* * *

><p><strong>*phew!* This chappie took a little while! It's a little long, because I wanted to explain a few things! There's probably a few plot holes, and probably a few errors, but other than that, I think this is okay! XD I usually try to get almost 2,000 words in each chapter, but this one has more than 2,500, so I think I've exceeded my goal! :)<strong>

**As always, thanks for all reviews, favorites, and follows! Happy you all are enjoying it so far! Reviews always inspire me to write more! Hope this wasn't too long! XD Please remember that suggestions are greatly appreciated! BTW, Invader Johnny, thanks for the suggestion about the Tallests burning Zim's letter! Came in handy for a little comedy and cruelty towards poor lil' Zim! XD**


End file.
